Health officials have repeatedly stressed the importance of regular muscle conditioning and development exercises to help build bone density, increase lean body mass, and improve balance. Such exercises are especially important for persons suffering from, or predisposed to developing, the bone debilitating disease osteoporosis. Osteoporosis is a disease in which bones are weakened and thinned. Individuals with osteoporosis are at increased risk of bone fracture and spinal curvature. The most effective way to counter the risks and effects of osteoporosis is a complete fitness routine comprising force resistance, postural, and balance exercises.
Force resistance training and other weight-bearing activities such as walking, jogging, and dancing, induce the body to work against added weight and gravity. Over time, such activities strengthen the body's supporting structures (muscles, tendons, ligaments, and bones), develop greater muscular balance, and enhance the ability of tissues to absorb more force. Postural exercises help to decompress the spine, maintain proper body alignment, and decrease harmful stress on the back. As a result, postural exercises can reduce the risk of spinal fractures and spinal curvature in persons with osteoporosis. Balance exercises are designed to improve balance and decrease the risk of bone fracturing falls that are currently the leading cause of mobility related injuries suffered by women diagnosed with, or prone to, osteoporosis.
A complete fitness routine of force resistance, postural, and balance exercises generally requires multiple pieces of fitness equipment. In general, traditional pieces of fitness equipment are each directed to only one of the three recommended exercise types. For example, the adjustable hand grip exerciser described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,786,849 to Faulconer is only directed to force resistance exercises, and the competitive exercise game device described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,436,019 to Hollowell is only directed to balance exercises. In addition, traditional fitness apparatuses typically target only a specific body segment, such as the lower body, or a specific “problem area,” such as the abdomen or buttocks. Thus, there is a need for a universal fitness apparatus that targets multiple muscle groups and is directed to force resistance, postural, and balance exercises.
Conventional approaches to overcome this need have proven unsatisfactory. Existing universal fitness apparatuses, such as the apparatus described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,620,704 to Shifferaw, are complex devices that are cumbersome, space-consuming, and expensive.
Therefore, there is a present need for a convenient, space-conscious, universal fitness apparatus for force resistance, postural, and balance exercises. In addition, there is a need for such an apparatus to be affordable. The present invention solves these needs.